


Erlkönig

by Igniferrus



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Based on a Poem, Gen, technically kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 14:07:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12509156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Igniferrus/pseuds/Igniferrus
Summary: "Ludwig reburies his face in the crook of his father's neck and tries to believe the man's attempts at soothing him. The claims that it was nothing more than fog playing tricks on a small boy's mind seem reasonable to a grown up, and Ludwig might have even found it an acceptable explanation for the man's moonlight silver hair. Or his corpse pale hands. But fog could not account for scarlet eyes. "A fanfiction in honour of Halloween.





	Erlkönig

**Author's Note:**

> This little one shot is based on my all-time favourite poem, Goethe's 1782 "Erlkönig" and I used Hyde Flippo's translation as inspiration. Some of the dialogue is taken directly from this translation, some only paraphrased.  
> For the purpose of this fic, I used the name Alarich for Germania, and the Anglicized name "Erlking" for Prussia.  
> This is my first fanfiction (and maybe only because I'm an Anxious Bean), and I'm not entire sure how it ended up in present tense because it's not my preferred style, so there's probably a thousand errors, which I apologize for. Constructive criticism would be appreciated!

It is later than expected when Alarich finally returns to his cottage. He had been out all day, trading in the village and gathering herbs in the wood taking far longer than it should. He walks swiftly over to the large bed in the corner, piled so high with blankets it is impossible for him to see even the smallest tuff of blond hair. Tugging back the covers, he sees his small son twisting in his fitful sleep in order to escape the cold his father allows under his covers. Ludwig's face is so red Alarich might have found it comical, if it did not reveal the intensity of the child's fever. 

He passes a hand over the forehead and cheek of his son — so small now, but will be big and strong like his father when (if) he grows up — and feels his heart break as the boy whimpers and nuzzles into his touch, seeking comfort. Hating himself the whole time, Alarich gently pulls Ludwig from the bed, ignoring his cries of pain, and settles him in his lap. He searches through his satchel for the herbs and plants he'd picked and bought that day, intent on turning them into medicine for his ailing child.

After the healing elixir had been made and coaxed down Ludwig's throat, Alarich took to pacing the length of the cottage with his son in his arms in an attempt to comfort him. The boy's ragged and wet breath skims by his ear and cheek, with coughing fits interrupting every so often. To Alarich's unending horror, his son seems to be declining rather than improving. It takes more effort to fill his lungs, and he lays sluggish and heavy against his father's chest.

In a panic, he wraps Ludwig in as many blankets as he can while still being able to carry him, and races out of the cottage to where his horse was tethered. His wife's family had a farm about an hour's ride through the forest, and though they hadn't been close since her death, they were always welcoming of him and Ludwig when they did visit. Hoping they would have some insights for him, Alarich spurs the horse into motion. 

 

In spite of his father's efforts to shield him, the bracing wind against his cheeks pulls Ludwig into full consciousness. His father holds him close, and the rhythm of the horse beneath them almost lulls him back to sleep, until he makes the mistake of peeking over his father's shoulder. 

He has never been fond of the woods near their home, often turning away from the trees casting strange, twisting shadows, and the mist that sometimes formed and obscured the paths in the undergrowth. This time, he stares with wide blue eyes, frozen in horror. He is unsure of how long he watches (is watched), but he eventually finds it in himself to tear his gaze away and hide his face in Alarich's shoulder, a quiet moan of fear falling unbidden from his lips. His father recognized the change from pain to fright. 

"My son, what makes you hide your face in fear?"

Ludwig shakes his head, still moaning, which prompts his father to ask him again. Only his father's arm around him and calm voice pull the answer from the child. 

"The Erlking, father. Don’t you see him?" 

Alarich's heart clenches with fear as his son replies. He'd been fearing the onset of delirium, and what it meant for his child's chance at survival. Still, he intends to do his duty as a father and reassure Ludwig. 

"My son, it is just the fog."

Ludwig nearly cries at his father's words, the pain of disbelief running through him smarts, but it is not enough to overpower the fear of the forest. They ride on, the silence only broken by the hoot of an owl, which sends the boy shooting up to see what is behind them, his heart racing. 

Ludwig reburies his face in the crook of his father's neck and tries to believe the man's attempts at soothing him. The claims that it was nothing more than fog playing tricks on a small boy's mind seem reasonable to a grown up, and Ludwig might have even found it an acceptable explanation for the man's moonlight silver hair. Or his corpse pale hands. But fog could not account for scarlet eyes. 

Scarlet eyes gleaming with wicked mirth. 

Suddenly, Ludwig feels a hand card through his card, and he relaxes into his father's calming gesture, until he realizes that his father's one arm is around his middle, and the other must be holding the reins. Slowly, he turns his head to the side, coming face to face with a ghoulish grin. His shriek of terror dies in his throat when the Erlking pulls his hand from blond hair and holds a finger to his lips. 

Blue eyes dart between the pale face and the rest of the man's (if he truly could be called a man) body, which appeared to be lounging in the air beside Alarich's horse. With a movement so swift it went unseen, the Erlking flips so that he floats behind the father and son pair, still close enough to whisper in the boy's ear. 

"You lovely child, come, go with me! Such beautiful games I’ll play with you." He begins, before continuing with fantastic and magical promises meant to entice, but only force Ludwig closer to his father in fear, wide eyes never leaving the Erlking's face. 

He tugs on his father's traveling cloak to get his attention, then chokes out around a coughing fit, "Father, do you not hear what the Erlking promises me so softly?"  
Alarich is again filled with fear for his son, this time tempered by worry. The coughs come from deep inside his chest and sound painful, and Alarich figures they are aggravated by Ludwig's attempts to speak. 

"Stay quiet, my son. You're only hearing the sounds of dry leaves rustling in the wind. There is nothing out here."

The Erlking laughs silently to himself at this proclamation, a full body motion with his head thrown back. Ludwig gave no acknowledgement to either of them, choosing instead to stare resolutely at the misty horizon. This did not suit the Erlking, whose face twists into something terrifying before smoothing out into a calm mask. He again drifts in the air closer to Ludwig, and waves a hand out towards the shadowy woods. 

"Won’t you come along with me, my fine boy? My daughters shall attend to you so nicely."

Unable to help himself, Ludwig turns his head in the direction of the Erlking's hand. Drifting among the trees are indeed the figures of young girls, wearing fine dresses in rich colours. Distantly, he notes that none of them resemble their proclaimed father — he is like the unholy cross between a ghost and ghoul, too pale to be alive with eyes and movements too vivacious to be dead, a coiling violent energy in every fiber of his being, and they seem almost humanlike — and they are all different though equal in their beauty. It is the lightning realization that the bright hues of the daughters' clothes must be visible to his father that gives Ludwig hope. He pulls again on his father's cloak, before mirroring the Erlking's earlier gesture. 

"Father! Do you see, over there, the Erlking's daughters?" 

“My son, my son, I see it most definitely. It’s the willow trees looking so grey." Alarich's attempt at pacifying his delirious child had the opposite affect; at his words Ludwig twists desperately in his arms, sobbing and pointing repeatedly in the same direction as before. This makes it difficult for his father to keep a hold on him. The boy nearly slips from his grasp, before he was settled again, as if forced back into his father's lap by some unseen force. 

"I love you; I’m charmed by your beautiful form; and if you’re not willing, then I’ll use force." The Erlking snarls in Ludwig's ear, fingers digging further into his shoulders, as he had not removed his hands after saving Ludwig from a fall. 

“My father, my father, he’s grabbing me now! The Erlking has done me harm!” The boy is crying furiously now, his words are almost indistinguishable as he clutches at his father, feeling the Erlking change his grip and start to pull on him. 

Alarich shivers, though he is unsure if it is due to cold or terror for his boy. He spurs the horse, and as they pick up speed, Ludwig grows quieter, until he is only moaning quietly in his father's arms. His urgency is prudent, but not enough. As he arrives at his wife's family's farm, the body he carries is already beginning to grow cold. 

 

Still in the forest, the Erlking watches impassively as the tall blond man rides away on his horse, unaware that his son has been switched for an empty shell, woven from magic. In his arms, little Ludwig is soothed into an uneasy sleep with a combination of a gentle hand rubbing his back and subtle magic.

**Author's Note:**

> For all those that made it through this fic, thank you! I'm sorry I'm wordy and abuse the comma.  
> As a quick note, I really don't think the Erlking is out to hurt Ludwig in this, I think he just didn't plan/think beyond "hey, that's a cute kid, I want him at my court" so he took him and will likely dote upon him for the rest of his life, as a weird brother/father figure. I also have no idea who the daughters are. Maybe they are the Erlking's kids, maybe they're just girls he's claimed as his family (like I think he's doing with Ludwig here).


End file.
